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ISSUE 2Oct 2011

Feature Editorial

Freedom of Speech, Policing and Security:

Lessons from Europe

Assoc. Prof. Mark Kebbell

What do black culture, the credit ratings of a country, Islam, and climate change have in common? The answer is that in Europe

politicians are advocating that the expression of certain views on these issues should be illegal. Worse, in many Western countries, legislation already exists that prevents the discussion of these topics. This has profound implications not only for people living in Europe, but also for academics using European sources of information.

Anyone who has worked with European scholars and police is familiar with the discrepancy between what people say and write in an official capacity and what they think. This is evident in the recent riots in England. Discussion of what is happening with regards to policing the inner-cities has been curtailed for several decades unless, of course, it corresponds with a narrow view of the police as an oppressive force and offenders as victims. Freedom of speech in continental Europe is even more impoverished by a combination of factors. “Human Rights” legislation and other laws are applied against individuals whimsically. For instance, Geert Wilders, the leader of the third largest political party in the Netherlands was recently prosecuted for his expressed beliefs concerning Islam. Prosecution is currently being considered against Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany for being pleased that

Inside this issue:

Feature Editorial: Freedom of Speech, Policing and Security: Lessons from Europe.......... 1

Conference In Focus.......... 3

CEPS Adjunct Prof. Report............... 4

Visiting Scholar Report ......... 5

Project Update: Forensic Intelligence ........ 6

Practitioners and Partners.......... 7

CEPS Member Profiles.......... 8

Special Report: Comparing Camps of Mass Atrocities.......... 9

PhD Corner.......... 10

Publications.......... 11

Media Bytes.......... 12

CEPS Research Quarterly EditorDr Yorick Smaal

y.smaal@griffith.edu.au

Production ManagerVictoria Hullena

v.hullena@griffith.edu.au

page2

Osama Bin Laden was killed. In both cases, it is not necessary for a conviction to occur for the clear message to be communicated that freedom of speech is not supported. These trials take many months, are expensive for the defendant, and the trial becomes the punishment.

There is a similar lack of free speech in many of the government and academic publications coming out of Europe. For example, the European Union’s Racism and Xenophobia Monitoring Centre altered their report to say that the majority of the 193 attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues, kosher shops, rabbis, and cemeteries in France in 2002 were perpetrated by “disaffected White Europeans”. Their data showed this was far from the case and a deliberate attempt to divert attentions from anti-Semitic attacks by people originating from North Africa.

These trends raise two implications for policing and security scholars. The first is that much of the literature available from Europe cannot be relied upon; unpalatable truths are not mentioned in ‘polite’ company and certainly not in official reports. The only way of determining what is going on is through visiting, not the Eiffel Tower but the banlieues, not Downing Street but Cable Street, and that means actively seeking out the less pleasant side of Europe for yourself. The second is that we must be aware of the threats to freedom of speech. Australia is not immune from these influences. Journalist Andrew Bolt has recently been found to be in breach of the Racial Discrimination Act concerning his views on people claiming to be Aboriginal. Similarly, Danny Nalliah, an Australian

Christian evangelical pastor, was prosecuted for his views on Islam. That case finally resulted in an acquittal after two appeals.

Australians have typically relied on their relationship with the United Kingdom and in more recent decades, the United States, for the lead concerning freedom of speech. However, as the United Kingdom becomes more repressive and the influence of the United States lessens, it becomes more important than ever that we support freedom of speech for our own views and views that we disagree with. Mark Steyn sums up the argument nicely: “Anyone can be in favour of free speech for Barney the Dinosaur and the Wiggles, but if you are not in favour of free speech you find offensive, and repellent, and loathsome, you are not in favour of free speech at all and you are on the side of creeping totalitarianism.”

Out & AboutOn 14-15 July, CEPS Director Simon Bronitt, along with CEPS Research Fellow Dr Saskia Hufnagel and CEPS PhD student Ms Sue Donkin, attended the ‘Democratic States’ Response to Terrorism under the Rule of Law’ workshop. The workshop was held at the Onati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, Spain.

CEPS Research Fellow, Dr Yorick Smaal, presented his paper ‘Keeping it in the family: Incest on the frontier, 1861-1900’ at the Australian Historical Association Conference, University of Tasmania, Launceston on 4-8 July 2011.

On 6-9 August, CEPS Research Assistant, Ms Brigette Bouhours presented the results of the China International Crime Against Business Survey at the International Society for Criminology event held in Kobe, Japan.

Mr John McFarlane, CEPS Associate Investigator, participated in the 29th International Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, 4-10 September 2011. John presented papers on ‘The Risk of Organised Crime’ and ‘Espionage, Subversion and the Vulnerability of IT and Data Systems’.

On 20 September 2011, CEPS hosted a Queensland Police Service Seminar ‘Overview of the Drug and Alcohol Coordination Unit, Queensland Police Service’ presented by Insp. Steve Munro, Mr Santanu Burman and Ms Susan Beattie.

In the fourth session of Asia Pacific Week 2011, CEPS Research Fellow, Prof. Sandy Gordon presented ‘India Goes Outwards’, alongside Prof. Raghbendra Jha at the Australian National University. The presentation focused on India’s economic and military expansion.

Assoc. Prof. Mark Kebbell is a CEPS Chief Investigator based at Griffith

University

page3

Research informing practice

By Nina Westera, CEPS PhD Student

In mid-2011, with the generous support of CEPS, I presented a paper

on my PhD research at the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG) Conference, University of Abertay, Dundee, Scotland. As part of the conference I also co-hosted a two day Master Class on the Cognitive Interview (CI) with Prof. Amina Memon and Dr Becky Milne.

The CI was originally developed by psychologists to enhance information obtained from eyewitnesses without compromising on the quality of that information. Strong empirical findings on the effectiveness of this technique, coupled with improved psychological understandings about suspect interviewing, has recently led to major reform in interviewing practices in the New Zealand Police service and many

police services around the world, including Queensland and Western Australia.

Prof. Memon’s presentation at the Masters Class suggested that the CI – and its use in practice – should be critically examined. An important aspect of this inquiry is the use of CI video recording as evidence-in-chief and its potential to improve the reliability and totality of evidence from rape complainants. Such a focus is increasingly relevant to justice sector organisations and law enforcement bodies as recent legislative changes in many countries now allow this alternative means of evidence. This topic has been largely ignored by

scholars and is the focus of my PhD research.

At the conference itself, I presented on the findings of my first two PhD studies. These examine police officers’ and prosecutors’ perceptions of this method of evidence. Overall, my findings (with supervisors Assoc. Prof. Mark Kebbell and Dr Becky Milne) suggest that both officers and prosecutors consider the use of the video recorded interview as evidence is likely to improve the reliability and completeness of rape complainant testimony at trial. However, both indicated concern that the free narrative style of the interview may be detrimental to credibility judgments about the complainant.

Our research findings and the interest of those presented with these findings to date, indicate a need to empirically examine the actual differences to the quality of testimony and the impact these different means of evidence have on credibility judgments to determine if this method is a legitimate means of improving rape complainant testimony. These topics are the final focus of my PhD studies at CEPS.

Conference In Focus

CEPS staff awarded for research excellenceCongratulations to Dr Rebecca Wickes on being awarded the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology’s (ANZSOC) New Scholar Prize for 2011, for her article ‘Generating action and responding to local issues: Collective efficacy in context’ published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol 43(3), pp. 423-43. ANZSOC’s New Scholar Prize is awarded each year for the best publication in criminology or a related area written by a member of the Society who is within five years of their appointment to their first full-time or fractional academic or other research-related position.

The committee was unanimous in its decision that this was a superb paper. In judging the Prize, the Selection Committee felt that Rebecca’s paper made an original contribution to the field of urban crime and collective efficacy literature (avoiding well worn research paths on crime in lower SES communities); took an excellent and logically structured approach to the topic; made for engaging

reading; demonstrated a strong introduction with a comprehensive coverage of the relevant literature, bringing in broader theoretical perspectives on Samson’s modern approach to social (dis)organisation theory; and was conceptually strong throughout, including presentation and discussion of its results.

Also, Dr Sarah Bennett from the University of Queensland node of CEPS has been jointly awarded the 2010 Nigel Walker Prize with Dr Leo Cheolitis. The prize is in recognition of outstanding written contribution to the field Criminology by a member of the University of Cambridge. Congratulations Sarah.

Dr Wickes, Associate Investigator, Univer-sity of Queensland

Dr Bennett, Research Fellow, University of

Queensland

Nina Westera is a Senior Sergeant in the New Zealand Police

page4

By Prof. Geoffrey P. Alpert

In December 2010, I visited the Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security

(CEPS) at Griffith University. During this visit, I was able to meet with the CEPS staff and make a formal presentation to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) Commanders on my research concerning police use of force and decision-making. I had several meetings with the QPS Managers to discuss the need for research in Queensland on police use of force and related issues. The next six months were spent negotiating the opportunity for me to return to Australia and develop a plan to study use of force and decision making at QPS. I arrived in Brisbane in June 2011 to begin setting the stage to develop a research plan with QPS in my capacity as a Visiting Prof. at CEPS. The last few months have been invaluable to the development of that plan. I was able to meet and discuss the relevant issues with a variety of QPS Commanders, I met regularly with the researchers in the Review and Evaluation Unit, and I had several very productive meetings with the Operational Skills & Tactics Program Managers, and observed scenario training on the use of force. One of the most interesting experiences

was when I observed the police in action in Fortitude Valley (Metropolitan North Police Region) on a shift from 9.00 pm until 4.30 am on a Saturday night. I was also able to meet with staff at the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) to discuss their role as an oversight board. I met with the Managers of the data systems where citizen complaints were stored and with the Managers of the Queensland Police Records and Information Management Exchange (QPRIME). These experiences provided me with a fundamental understanding of QPS and its culture. Importantly, I learned that QPS does not collect use of force data for hands-on encounters with offenders, but has a system in place to do so in 2012. Based on this knowledge, I was able to design several short and long-term research projects. The short-term projects incorporate a survey of trainers and officers concerning their perception of the use of force policy and training. These data will form the basis for a second study that utilises the Significant Events Memoranda. This second study will use police-citizen encounters that result in Significant Event Memoranda to look at a variety of issues concerning officer’s understanding of threat and their decision to use force. A longitudinal study of police recruits will be the long-term study that will help QPS understand the life course of their officers with special attention paid to their ability to assess risk and threat, and use of force decision making.

These projects will provide important information to QPS concerning their officers, training, and policies on the use of force and decision making. In addition, the data will answer important academic questions about the use of force in Queensland. The studies will also provide a measurement of organisational change that will help QPS understand how it changes over

the years. Importantly, the design and implementation of these projects will strengthen the partnership between researchers at CEPS and QPS. The projects address complex organisational issues as well as advance our academic knowledge.

The management of these projects is being negotiated with QPS officials who have indicated a strong desire to conduct the studies. My visit has been helpful in strengthening the partnership between CEPS and QPS. I have also been able to mentor Dr Porter and help her strengthen her skills working with the police in general, and QPS specifically. I will work to explain to my American colleagues the strong and sustainable partnership CEPS has with QPS. Clearly, this partnership and my strong relationship with CEPS and QPS will contribute to the research productivity and international reputation of CEPS and Griffith University.

In addition to providing oversight of the research projects, it is my desire to serve as the American ‘ambassador’ for CEPS and to help recruit staff and graduate students. I plan on contacting my American colleagues who have had a relationship or knowledge of CEPS to assist in both of these recruitment efforts.

Frontline Policing, Decision Making and the Use of Force: Setting the Stage - CEPS Adjunct Prof. Report

Visiting FellowsARRIVALS > Prof. Yoko Iwama National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)

DEPARTURES >Assoc. Prof. John Hip University of California, California. (16 May - 5 June 2011)

> Dr Jack Anderson Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland. (23 July - 21 August 2011)

> Prof. Martin Innes Universities’ Police Science Institute, Cardiff. (28 July - 18 August 2011)

CEPS Adjunct Prof. Geoff Alpert is based at the University of South

Carolina, US.

page5

On arriving in Brisbane from Belfast on Monday

25 July (only a day late), the Director of CEPS, whose jokes are still as bad as ever, thought it might be a good idea if two days later I deliver the keynote address during a CEPS workshop entitled ‘Combating Serious Crime and Corruption in Sport: International and Comparative Perspectives’.

Fuelled on coffee and cake – they serve nothing else at CEPS, Griffith – I survived, benefitting in no small part from the effort put in by the organisers (Jason, Ashutosh, Melanie

and Kylie). Despite the rather fancily titled workshop, my research concerns gambling-led corruption in sport. Right on cue, a number of betting related scandals emerged in Australia during my time here – thank you Ryan Tandy and Heath Shaw – and resulted in some media interest in my work. I’d particularly like to thank Michael Jeh, Manager of Griffith Sports College, for his help in this regard.

During my month long stay in Australia, I also delivered talks on the subject of corruption and crime in sport at the CEPS ANU node, Newcastle University, and Melbourne Law School. I also met with a number of sports bodies including the Australian Sports Commission and officials at the Cabinet Office for Sport (part of the Department of the Prime Minister) in Canberra, as well as briefings with the Australian Crime Commission and Queensland and Victoria State Police.

In brief, and thanks to my Visiting Fellowship at CEPS, I learned a lot in Australia but, much more importantly, met good people both personally and professionally.

Visiting Scholar ReportBy Dr Jack Anderson

By Insp. Jason Saunders

In conjunction with my CEPS colleague and fellow cricket lover, Dr Ashutosh

Misra, and Michael Jeh from Griffith Sports College, another cricket die-hard, I was recently involved in organising a closed workshop on corruption in sport held at the Queensland Cricketers Club, the Gabba, on the 27 July 2011.

Thirty invited participants from industry, law enforcement, and academia spent a full day discussing issues around serious gambling and financial corruption in sport. CEPS’ visiting fellow, Dr Jack Anderson, presented the keynote presentation. Senior representatives from law enforcement, sports and gaming industry ensured that the event was a success. The workshop and Dr Anderson’s visit

garnered some local media attention. Gambling-related corruption, just one issue addressed by participants,

has recently been identified by Jacque Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, as the biggest single threat to the integrity of international sport. Recent events in Australia have highlighted that local sport is not immune to this behaviour. Sport is a major global industry generating billions of dollars in sponsorship, media rights and gambling funds. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) highlighted the threat posed by organised crime and sports bodies acknowledged the problem, vulnerabilities, and their strategies to combat the issue.

The industry panel discussion was a particularly valuable exercise and special thanks must go to Prof. David Kinley, University of Sydney for moderating so

expertly and entertainingly. The insight and frankness of the panel members, Mr Sean Carroll from Cricket Australia, Mr Phil Thomson from Australian Rugby Union, and Mr Ray Murrihy from Racing NSW were also well received. Special thanks also to Mr Abhishek Vikram from Dua Associates in New Dehli, India, for attending at short notice to provide an Indian perspective.

Some of the questions raised at the workshop included whether we will see the formation of a World Anti-Corruption Agency similar to the World Anti-Doping Agency which was set up more than two decades ago, and whether Australia might establish a National Integrity of Sport Unit? What is clear from the workshop is that more research can be done on this topic. A briefing paper from Dr Jack Anderson will be released in October.

Corruption in Sport Workshop

Representatives from the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), Austrac, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria and Queensland

Police, Cricket Australia, Queensland Cricket, Australian and Queensland Rugby Union (ARU and QRU), Australian and NSW Racing, Queensland Roar and CEPS at the Sports Corruption Workshop.

Dr Jack Anderson is based at Queen’s University, Belfast

page6

It’s a familiar plot: the bespectacled forensic

scientist, aided by an attractive but hapless assistant, painstakingly collects and interprets the forensic clues left by the protagonist of a bizarre or intriguing crime. All sorts of forensic instruments are brought to bear: tyre marks, digital photography, fingerprints, DNA,

trace analysis, ballistics, and so on. The episode triumphantly concludes with the case firmly solved; the mastermind sits in handcuffs and the usefulness of science to law and order is validated once again – until next week and a different, equally odd case.

While this case-by-case approach of forensic sciences has been critical in police investigations since the discoveries of fingerprinting techniques and DNA analysis, another role for forensic analysis is emerging. In recent years, the notion that forensic science may be able to contribute to policing in a wider capacity has taken hold. Increasingly, policing experts are arguing for forensic data to be used to confer a strategic insight into crime across time and space. Forensic intelligence, as it is known, offers the prospect of a more sophisticated approach to policing.

The concept is simple: forensic intelligence offers the possibility of objective, timely and consolidated data on crime. In its conceptual form, it refers to the structured assimilation of forensic data (i.e. crime scene evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, ballistics, and trace evidence) within a cross-referenced and indexed digital dataset. This dataset is then subjected to rigorous qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify meaningful behavioral patterns of criminal enterprise. The use of that data analysis is held to be strategic insofar as it informs several elements of policing such as: (i) intelligence-led operations, (ii) preventative policing, and (iii) resource allocation.

Set against a backdrop of better data collection techniques, lowered costs of data storage, and more sophisticated computer processing, digital forensic databases are within the reach of most policing agencies. In fact, the use of crime data in this manner is a very real prospect in the UK with the launch

of the Police National Database (PND). While forensic data is not yet linked into the PND, the technology is in place to look for patterns in data to guide police resource-allocation, reveal crime ‘hot-spotting’ and detect serial offending .

In partnership with a number of policing agencies, including the National Institute of Forensic Sciences, the CEPS project on forensic intelligence looks to explore the prospects of forensic intelligence in contemporary policing. While the case for the value of forensic intelligence has been well made, it nevertheless maintains a relatively benign status in policing. In a recent paper, Ribaux et al. (2010) found that forensic intelligence needs to be underpinned by a framework that connects forensic science to intelligence policing. To derive useful and actionable intelligence, they argue, forensic intelligence should ‘result mostly from complex reasoning patterns that globally integrate all sources of relevant information available, including forensic case data, across separate organisations’ (Ribaux et al., 2010, p.15). The CEPS program of research revolves around four priority themes identified as weaknesses in the forensic intelligence approach:

1. The concept of forensic intelligence is ambiguous2. Forensic sciences are seen as a separate culture to

investigations3. Forensic data is difficult to standardise and combine4. Forensic science itself not well-suited to delivering timely

intelligence.

The research also looks at the contemporary applications of forensic intelligence. As well as the UK Police National Database, the project is researching efforts in Afghanistan to counter the IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) threat. For example, the US military has undertaken a counter-IED program that is developing techniques to combine different types of data to build up intelligence on IEDs. Using forensic and technical information on IEDs, including DNA, trace and fingerprint analysis of devices, the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organisation (JIEDDO) is attempting to detect and disrupt the networks planting the deadly devices.

The use of forensic data as intelligence augurs a new era of technological sophistication in policing. Calls for ‘the need to change the paradigm of forensic evidence as a pure probative exercise to a powerful investigative science’ (Esseiva, 2007, p.254) have found a sympathetic response in many policing agencies in Australia. Yet, forensic intelligence is in its infancy and faces a number of conceptual and operational challenges. Overcoming these challenges are crucial for ensuring its operational utility and research can play a central role in this process.

Project Update: Forensic IntelligenceDr Tim Legrand and Ms Lauren Vogel

ReferencesRibaux, O., Baylon, A., Roux, C., Delémont, O., Lock, E., Zingg, C., & Margot, P. (2010). Intelligence-led crime scene processing. Part I: Forensic intelligence. Forensic science international, 195(1-3), 10–16.

Esseiva, P., Loset, S., Anglada, F., Gasté, L., Ribaux, O., Margot, P., Gallusser, A., et al. (2007). Forensic drug intelligence: an important tool in law enforcement. Forensic science international, 167(2-3), 247–254.

Dr Tim Legrand is a CEPS Research Fellow based at Griffith University

page7

Another busy quarter and how my time at CEPS has flown. It is with much pleasure that I announce that

my recently completed 12 month tenure at CEPS has been extended until next year.

July and August were busy assisting Visiting Fellow Prof. Geoff Alpert from University of South Carolina in scoping and developing a research plan to submit later this year to the Australian and New Zealand Police Advisory Agency (ANZPAA). This program of research surrounds the use of force and decision making. During this time, I also assisted with Dr Jack Anderson’s visit from Queens University, Belfast, regarding financial crime and corruption in sport.

Some exciting developments in fraud have also occurred. Fiscal the Fraud Fighting Ferret released a third episode on ATM skimming. I also supported Dr Jacki Drew and Prof. Michael Drew in presenting a paper at the QPS Senior Fraud Symposium, entitled, ‘The rise and rise of superannuation fraud: Is your nest egg safe’. Australia has more than $1.3 trillion in super funds and this is a real honey pot for potential rackets. Stay tuned for a briefing paper and possible journal articles. Discussions with the Griffith University Australian Institute of Suicide Research and Prevention and QPS continue to scope the possibility of research into the suicidality of fraud victims.

It was also an honour to have Commissioner Bob Atkinson visit CEPS in August for an informal meet and greet with staff. The secret may be out about the quality of CEPS’ morning teas.

Collaboration with QPS continues with a number of areas including with QPrime – the QPS information management and technology platform; Mental Health Intervention Program; Cultural Advisory Unit; State Crime Operations Command; Metropolitan North Region and Gold Coast Police. Any CEPS staff or associated academics who need contact with QPS, or for that matter other law enforcement agencies, should not hesitate to contact me for any assistance I can provide.

I am looking forward to what is left of 2011.

In late 2010, the Queensland Department of Transport

and Main Roads and CEPS entered into a Collaborative Research Agreement focused on delivering tangible benefits for the Department of Transport and Main Roads and the broader transport sector. The Vulnerable Infrastructure and Government Coordination Program has now been substantially refocused to specifically include research on surface transport security, maritime security

and aviation security. Strong links with industry have been established and will continue to drive the focus of the research.

As part of the Vulnerable Infrastructure and Government Coordination Program, I have been conducting my own research on the history of Australia’s federal-level critical infrastructure policy between 1978 and 2010. The project is focused on identifying the policy trajectory and its key drivers including: changing concepts and definitions; a shift in organising principles from protective security to resilience; key events, people and reviews; and government decisions. The research has been challenging but one of the highlights has been interviewing some extraordinary people, including current and retired senior industry practitioners. Among other things, the research will deliver a comprehensive policy chronology that is expected to be valuable to academics and practitioners alike.

Practitioners and PartnersMs Kate O’Donnell, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Government

Insp. Jason Saunders, CEPS Police Fellow, Queensland Police

Ms Kate O’Donnell is on secondment to CEPS during

2011

Insp. Jason Saunders tenure with CEPS extends into 2012

page8

Prof. Philip Stenning joined the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University as a Professor in

February 2011. He is also an Associate Investigator with the Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS), and a centre member of the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance. Prior to taking up this position, he had worked at Keele University in the UK, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto, Canada.

Philip obtained his doctorate in law (S.J.D.) at the University of Toronto in 1983. His principal research interests have included: public and private policing; the prosecution process; governance and accountability in the criminal justice system; firearms abuse and gun control; Aboriginal justice and policing; use of force by and against police; occupational safety and homicide of police officers and taxi drivers. He is currently involved in research on gender-based violence against female university students in European universities; the governance of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side (one of North America’s most notorious ‘skid row’ areas); and a comparative study of

relations between prosecutors and governments in a number of common law and civil law jurisdictions in North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia.

Philip is hoping to assemble an international research team to undertake some ethnographic research on the role of transnational private security in the coming years.

You can contact Philip at p.stenning@griffith.edu.au

CEPS Member Profiles Prof. Philip Stenning

Dr Ramirez received her PhD in Sociology at the University of Washington, Seattle USA, in May 2011. Her PhD, under

the supervision of Prof. Robert Crutchfield, investigated the relationship between neighborhood collective efficacy and block watch participation in Seattle and Brisbane neighborhoods looking specifically at differential rates of participation for immigrants. Suzanna, a Sydney native, has

spent 11 years in the US and is incredibly happy to be back in her home country with her husband and 2 year old daughter. Suzanna has now taken up a three year contract with the CEPS UQ node as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on the CEPS funded National Preparedness and Security Survey. At the conclusion of this three year position, Suzanna will join the Faculty of Social Science at UQ as a Lecturer in Criminology.

The National Preparedness and Security Survey seeks to understand the extent to which Australians are prepared for both natural disasters and potential terrorist events. In addition, we want to understand what factors contribute to how Australians perceive risk associated with natural disasters and terrorist events. This national survey is a great opportunity to learn about Australian attitudes regarding terrorism and national security issues. In particular, to assess how they perceive the preparedness of various levels of government and how recent counter terrorism policies and natural disaster events have affected their own preparedness behavior. The results of this survey will help us and government agencies better understand how they and government policies are perceived by the public which aide further efforts to engage the public in preparedness behavior as well as communicate real threats of disaster. This survey is due to be rolled out in October 2011.

Suzanna has additional research interest in how courtroom decision making impacts the social control of children and families, particularly in dependency cases and in new courtroom initiatives such as drug courts. However, it is her interest in neighborhood contributors of crime and social control that is driving her current and future research activities. Suzanna is particularly interested in how collective behavior within neighborhoods is promoted or hampered where the social control of children, violent crime, and radicalization are concerned. You can contact Suzanna at s.ramirez@uq.edu.au

Prof. Philip Stenning, CEPS Associate Investigator, Griffith University

Dr Suzanna Ramirez

Dr Suzanna Ramirez, CEPS Postdoc-toral Research Fellow, University of

Queensland

page9

By Dr Melanie O’Brien,CEPS Research Fellow, Griffith University

As part of my ongoing research into international crimes, I recently

undertook research visits to the Netherlands, Poland, and Argentina. These visits included participation in international conferences such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars bi-annual conference on Truth, Memory, Justice, and Recovery. A principal element of my trip was to visit campsites linked with mass atrocities. In the Netherlands and Poland, these camps were set up by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In Argentina, the camps were established during the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983.

In the Netherlands, I visited the camps of Amersfoort and Westerbork. Westerbork was a transit camp, a place to house the Dutch Jews before they were deported to camps such as Belzec and Sobibor. Amersfoort was a concentration camp where Jews were detained, many of whom died through starvation or execution. In Poland, I visited the sites of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Majdanek. These three camps were extermination camps, where

the Nazis shot and gassed millions of Jews and other ‘undesirables’ during the Holocaust. All the former Nazi camps were located in isolated areas, distanced from populated areas, and surrounded by trees. The sheer size of Birkenau and Majdanek was astonishing, and must be seen to be comprehended.

The Argentinean camps were a completely different experience to those of the Nazi regime. The ex-Clandestine Detention Centres (CCDs) I visited, ESMA and Olimpo, were located right in the city, amongst residential areas. While the Nazis sought to hide their crimes, the Argentinian military and police used their camps as a form of terror. The CCDs were in fact obvious in order to show people what punishment they would receive if they were ‘subversive’. The military and police kidnapped people suspected of being ‘subversive terrorists’ and held them in the CCDs, where they were tortured before being drugged and dropped out of a plane into the River Plata. Approximately 30,000 disappeared during the military dictatorship.

In Argentina, I was also able to attend two trials of former military personnel who worked at the former CCDs of ESMA and Vesubio. The Vesubio sentencing was particularly fascinating. It was attended by hundreds of people demonstrating for justice, and families of victims. Two of the perpetrators received life sentences, and the other five between 18 and 22 years.

The visits were extremely moving and interesting, providing me with an excellent background for my current research into international criminal justice. While it is impossible to truly understand what the victims of the camps went through, we can learn so much more from active research than anything we can read in a textbook.

Dr Melanie O’Brien is a CEPS Research Fellow, and is currently working on research projects about guilt admissions in international criminal justice; interview techniques in international courts and tribunals; expanding the mandate of CivPol in UN peace operations; and various cases of interest in transnational and international criminal law.

Comparing Camps of Mass Atrocities

Barbed wire alongside barracks at Auschwitz-I campsite.

page10

PhD CornerBy Ms Lauren Vogel

I recently attended a workshop called The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful PhD Students and was

informed, somewhat jovially, that I had more chance of failing kindergarten than I did of failing a PhD. Almost a year into my Doctoral research and fast approaching confirmation, my first response, quite naturally, was scepticism. Further explanation, however, revealed that of those PhD students who actually submit a thesis for examination, less than 1 per cent fail. Most students, apparently, don’t fail a PhD, they simply drop out. So it seems that the old adage, “success is 10 per cent ability and 90 per cent effort” is true (or at least ‘supported’).

I find this statistic comforting as I sit at my desk surrounded by piles of journal articles and books,

experimenting with how best to integrate feminism, international relations, feminist security studies, and political and revolutionary violence research into a coherent, intelligible confirmation document. Ultimately (hopefully!) this document will justify my research looking at the inclusion/exclusion of women in conflict resolution and peace building processes by examining the (actual and perceived) role of women in political/revolutionary violence, through a feminist lens . Although a confirmation document isn’t quite a PhD thesis, it’s a pretty good start – and I’d like to think that the old adage still applies!

2011 CEPS Conference ‘Risk and Resilience: Redefining Security’

The organising committee for the CEPS annual conference has continued to work hard to finalise the planning for this year’s conference. Under the banner, Risk and Resilience: Redefining Security, the conference program is attracting interest from academics, industry and government. As well as providing a strong program, the conference also provides an opportunity for academics to explore formal partnerships with industry and government and social networking at the welcome reception and conference dinner.

For more information go to www.ceps.edu.au

DATE: 5-7 October 2011VENUE: Hilton Brisbane Hotel, Brisbane

Presented by Prof. Simon Bronitt

On 9 September 2011, CEPS Director Prof. Simon Bronitt delivered a public lecture on Australia’s terrorism legislation. Attended by industry practitioners, government policy officers, and academics, this informal presentation provided an opportunity to hear Simon reflect on the profound changes to Australian criminal laws and police powers in the decade since 9/11. Simon discussed legal changes, both dramatic and incremental, that trend towards intervening at earlier stages of terrorism planning and provided an overview on enhanced surveillance, new offences, anti-terrorism financing laws, control orders and preventative detention. He also focused on some of the broad issues relating to legal definitions of terrorism, critical infrastructure protection and specifically the military powers aimed at preventing the tragedy of 9/11 including the use of lethal force against hijacked aircraft or vessels.

The lecture was followed by some lively discussion and an opportunity for attendees to speak with Simon in an informal setting on some key issues relating to terrorism law in Australia.

This event was sponsored by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. Article by Kate O’Donnell.

Missed a Seminar?

Did you know you can download podcasts of these past CEPS seminars plus many more at www.ceps.edu.au/events/past-events

‘Can the US prosecute WikiLeaks for Espionage? Should it?’ by Prof. Kevin Heller> 3 October 2011

‘Ten myths about terrorist funding’ by Prof. Bill Tupman> 26 September 2011

‘10 years on: Critical perspectives on terrorism law reform in Australia’ by Prof. Simon Bronitt> 9 September 2011

‘Building capacity in the police organisation to foster anti-corruption’ by Mr Alan Beckley> 23 August 2011

‘Threats to the Integrity of International Sport: Cheating, Corruption and the Law’ By Dr Jack Anderson> 9 August 2011

CEPS Public Lecture - 9/11 Anniversary, Ten Years on: Critical Perspectives on Terrorism Law Reform

Ms Lauren Vogel is a CEPS PhD student based

at Griffith University

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Pre-emptive Strike: How Australia is Tackling Outlaw Motorcycle GangsJ Ayling (2011) Amercian Journal of Criminal Justice: Volume 36, Page 250-264.In the past three years, new laws have been introduced in four Australian states designed to prevent criminal conspiracies by outlaw motorcycle gang (OMG) members and to disrupt the criminal activities of these gangs. The Australian laws push the boundaries previously set in similar laws in other jurisdictions, in that controls can be imposed because of membership of an organization perceived as a threat by the state. The laws constitute a pre-emptive strike against OMGs. However, there are very real issues about their likely effectiveness, given research suggesting that the primary structures targeted in this legislation, the clubs, are not necessarily the ones that OMG members use to conduct their criminal business. This article explores these issues, and suggests that the reaction of OMGs to this legislation may provide important information about OMG adaptiveness and resilience.

Sexual Exploitation and Beyond: Using the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to Prosecute UN Peacekeepers for Gender-based CrimesM O’Brien (2011), International Criminal Law Review 11 (4) 803-827.Allegations and confirmed cases of misconduct by peacekeeping personnel have been revealed by non-governmental organisations, the press and UN investigations. The majority of misconduct has fallen under the term ‘sexual exploitation and abuse’. Sexual exploitation and abuse has encompassed rape, sex with minors, trafficking, prostitution-related conduct, sexual exploitation, and other sexual abuse. This article consists of an examination of the applicable law under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to determine whether or not the provisions could be used to prosecute peacekeepers for the crimes of rape, sexual slavery, sexual exploitation, prostitution-related conduct, and trafficking. Real life examples of criminal conduct by peacekeeping personnel are given to test the applicability of the Rome Statute provisions.

The Evolution of Police Oversight in AustraliaT Prenzler (2011) Policing and Society, 21(3), 284-303.This paper reviews developments in police oversight in the last decade in Australia’s eight jurisdictions. Significant variation remains in the structure and responsibilities of oversight agencies, but there has been an ongoing trend towards replacing an ombudsman model with a public-sector

wide commission model. There has also been a general convergence in terms of increased powers and an enlarged range of anti-corruption tactics. Change has been driven by on-going revelations of misconduct or concerns about potential misconduct by police, public servants and politicians. Despite improvements it is argued there is considerable room for better practice, especially in enlarging the scope of independent investigations and adjudication by integrity commissions.

Strike Force Piccadilly and ATM Security: A Follow Up StudyT Prenzler (2011) Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 5(3), 236–247This paper provides a follow up evaluation of ‘Strike Force Piccadilly’ – a successful New South Wales Police public-private partnership to combat ATM ram raids (Prenzler, 2009). The original study showed a significant reduction in raids 12 months after the implementation of a range of countermeasures including a 1800 police hotline, relocation of ATMs and the installation of anti-ramming devices. The present study adds two years of additional data from 2008 to 2010. It was found that the reduction in ram raids was sustained and reduced even further. At the same time, there was a shift in offender tactics to the use of explosive ‘gas attacks’ in 2008. This problem was in turn minimised by police investigations, the incapacitation of gang members, and the installation of gas detection and disabling equipment. The follow up study reinforced the value of public-private crime reduction partnerships and the need to be adaptive to new threats.

Welfare Fraud in Australia: Dimensions and Issues.T Prenzler (2011) Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 421, 1-6. This paper reports on key aspects of welfare fraud in Australia. It begins by outlining the basic aims of welfare systems that provide direct economic support, the vulnerability of these systems to fraud and issues around culpability and appropriate responses to suspected fraud. The paper also describes problems experienced when attempting to measure fraud and provides an analysis of available data about the size and dimensions of the problem, including case studies of major frauds. Overall, demonstrable fraud represents a very small fraction of all welfare transactions, but it also represents significant losses, demand for prosecution and loss recovery action. Overall, there is a need for greater consensus on the best ways to prevent fraud and deal with offenders.

Detecting and Preventing Welfare FraudT Prenzler (2011) Trends and Issues in Crime

and Criminal Justice, 418, 1-6. This paper examines anti-fraud measures currently operating in Australia’s welfare system, administered by the government agency, Centrelink. Using official data, an examination is made of the operations and rationales of different strategies and their impacts, including estimated savings. The paper covers nine strategies, including data-matching, public tip-offs, media campaigns, stepped-up investigations and recovery action. The findings indicate that Centrelink has adopted international best practice measures to combat fraud and appears to be particularly successful at detecting and stopping fraud. At the same time, the main challenge appears to lie in the area of finding and demonstrating more effective primary prevention measures.

Interviewing witnesses: Do investigative and evidential requirements concur?N Westera, M Kebbell, and R Milne (2011), British Journal of Forensic Practice, 13(2), 103-113.Legislation in many developed nations now allows for the video-recorded interview of an adult witness made during the investigation to be used as his or her evidence-in-chief at trial. This paper discusses how the use of an interview that meets both investigative and evidential purposes presents special challenges to the criminal justice system. It explores the obstacles to the use of this type of evidence against the likelihood that such evidence will provide the tribunal of fact with more accurate and complete testimony than previously experienced and may improve the judicial process for victims and witnesses. The paper concludes the implications of using video-record interviews as evidence are worthy of further exploration.

Interviewing rape complainants: Police officers’ perceptions of interview format and quality of evidenceN Westera, M Kebbell, and R Milne (2011), [Electronic Version]. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25.This study explores police perceptions of video recording rape complainant interviews for investigative and evidential purposes. Officers cited the main advantages of video recording interviews as improving forensic quality and interviewing practices, and the ability to use the interview as effective evidence. Officers’ rated the ideal characteristics of the complainant’s video interview similarly when used for investigative compared to evidential purposes. These findings suggest video recording complainant interviews may be one way of improving quality resolutions in rape cases.

For a full list of publications visit www.ceps.edu.au/about/publications

Selected recent publications

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Views expressed are personal to the author, and should not be attributed to CEPS or its industry partners.

Media BytesCEPS Chief Investigator, Prof. Tim Prenzler featured on Today Tonight regarding Centrelink’s crackdown on social welfare cheats. The program focused on the findings of Prof. Prenzler’s reports ‘Welfare and Fraud in Australia: Dimensions and Issues’ and ‘Detecting and Preventing Welfare Fraud ‘. The findings suggest that Centrelink appears to be successful in detecting and stopping fraud.

Specialising in sports corruption, CEPS Visiting Scholar Dr Jack Anderson from Belfast, Ireland, proved popular with the Australian Media when he visited this year in August. Dr Anderson spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC news and brisbanetimes.com.au, as well as several other media outlets, regarding gambling within sporting codes and sports corruption.

On the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, CEPS Research Advisory Committee Member, Mr Mick Keelty, reflected with Brisbane’s 97.3fm breakfast radio crew on air about the daunting prospect of facing the events of 9/11 as Australia’s newly appointed Police Commissioner.

Dr Melanie O’Brien, CEPS Research Fellow, spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald (27 Sep 11) regarding the pending trial of ‘honeymoon killer’ Gabe Watson in Alabama, US. Watson will be tried for a second time over the murder of his wife, which will be a violation of the principle of double jeopardy, reported Dr O’Brien.

CEPS Director, Prof. Simon Bronitt, discussed the growth, and latest trends of organised and serious crime in Australia on ABC National Radio, 27 Sept 11.

ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security Nodes:

Griffith UniversityLevel 3, Suite 3.01Social Sciences Building (M10)Griffith UniversityMessines Ridge RoadMt Gravatt QLD 4122

Phone: 07 3735 6903Fax: 07 3735 1033Email:ceps@griffith.edu.auDirector: Simon Bronitt

The Australian National UniversityRegNet, Australian National UniversityCnr Fellows and Garran RdsActon ACT 0200

The University of QueenslandThe Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR)Room 403A, Level 4, General Purpose North 3 (Building 39A)Campbell RoadSt Lucia QLD 4072

Charles Sturt UniversityAustralian Graduate School of Policing James Hagan Building Wagga Wagga Campus NSW 2678

Major Sponsor

The ARC CEPS welcomes articles and other contributions for CEPS Research Quarterly. Articles may be edited for style and/or length. Edited articles are referred to authors before publication for correction and feedback. There is no guarantee that all submitted articles will be published. Submissions should be sent to the Editor.

Do you have an item to contribute to the next CEPS Research Quarterly? Please forward any submissions to the Editor, Dr Yorick Smaal: y.smaal@griffith.edu.au

Industry Partners

Professor Tim Prenzler on Channel 7’s Today Tonight